Pseudotremia kerboi, Shear, William A., 2008

Shear, William A., 2008, Cave millipeds of the United States. VII. New species and records of the genus Pseudotremia Cope. I. Species from West Virginia, USA (Diplopoda, Chordeumatida, Cleidogonidae), Zootaxa 1764, pp. 53-65 : 63

Pseudotremia kerboi , n. sp.

Figs. 13–18

Types: Male holotype and male and two female paratypes (VMNH) from Haynes Cave, Monroe Co., WEST VIRGINIA, collected 23 September 2000 by David Hubbard.

Diagnosis: This species of Pseudotremia is unique and instantly recognizable in both sexes. The male gonopods have unusually broad lateral colpocoxites with a small, reflexed dorsal branch and several teeth, not known from any other species (in P. fongi [see above], it is the ventral branch that is reflexed and toothed). The female cyphopods are large, and the lateral valve has a long, ventral process.

Etymology: The species epithet honors Ronal Kerbo, former cave specialist for the United States National Park Service, and avid cave conservationist; Kerbo received the National Park Service’s Meritorious Service Award in 2007, for, among other achievements, establishing the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Description: Male holotype about 30 mm long, 2.0 mm wide; third antennal segment 1.2 mm long. Ocelli pigmented, 17–18 on each side, some ocelli smaller, not touching others. Segmental shoulders strongly developed on anterior segments, dorsal surface of shoulders slightly concave, but reduced to level of lateral striations about segment 17. Metazonites of anterior segments nearly smooth, four to six low rugae on posterior segment margins from segment 10 posterior. About 10 strong lateral striations. Color light tan, mottled darker purplish brown on head and anterior 12 segments.

Anterior gonopods (figs. 13, 14) with angiocoxites strongly developed, heavily sclerotized, protruding anteriorly; median angiocoxites short, but broad in lateral view, lacking subapical spine, but short spine developed near base of coxite on inner side, tips of coxite with small cuticular spicules; lateral angiocoxites unusually broad, complex, ventral branch longest, with slight division at tip, dorsal branch short, recurved, body of coxite bears two ventral and one dorsal tooth (fig. 16). Colpocoxites deeply divided apically into narrow mesal and broad lateral fingers; ventral process large, arcuate in ventral view (fig. 15), dorsal process absent. Ninth legpair as in fig. 17, with stronger, more angular coxal lobes than in other species.

Female 27 mm long, 1.8 mm wide, otherwise similar to male. Cyphopods (fig. 18) angular, strongly protruding between second and third legpair coxae.

Notes: Pseudotremia kerboi is not presently assignable to any of the species groups; obviously it is not related to the species of the Hobbsi Group, nor does it seem to be close to P. a r m e s i. Ecologically the species is probably troglophilic, with slightly reduced eyes for a large species; it should also be searched for on the surface. A female Pseudotremia from Coburn Cave, also in Monroe Co. (collected 30 May 1969 by J. Holsinger and J. Frederick), is not this species, since it has much lower segmental shoulders, and has pebbled ornamentation on the metazonites. Two females of quite different appearance, with reduced eyes and smooth metazonites, have been taken in Burnside Branch Cave, 3 mi WNW of Gap in Monroe Co., on 15 April 1972, by J. Holsinger and D. Culver. The inevitable conclusion is that there are at least two additional species to be found in Monroe County.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 18. Pseudotremia kerboi, n. sp. 13. Gonopods, anterior view. 14. Gonopods, lateral view, 15. Ventral median colpocoxite process and colpocoxites of gonopods, ventral view. 16. Lateral angiocoxite branch of gonopods, oblique mesal view. 17. Right leg 9 of male, anterior view. 18. Cyphopods, lateral view; mv, medial valve, lv, lateral valve, cx 2, coxa of leg 2, Roman numerals are diplosegment numbers.